In a city awash with much-loved legends – the Cipriani, the Danieli, the Gritti Palace – it takes something special for a newcomer to turn heads. But Aman, which splashed down here in 2013, as ever, had a trump card: Palazzo Papadopoli. Not only is this 16th-century confection right on the Grand Canal, just past the Rialto Bridge – which guests whizz under in the hotel’s glossy Riva to arrive at the palazzo’s jetty flanked by cerulean bricole – but it has also been home for the last two centuries to the Arrivabene family. Proper Venetian aristocracy, the current count and countess (Giberto and Bianca) still live here with their five children in a sprawling apartment at the top of the building. Beneath it, the first-floor piano nobile – redesigned, along with the whole of the palazzo, in the early 19th century by master of rococo Michelangelo Guggenheim – is a breathtaking, silk-draped, gilded space lit by enormous Murano glass chandeliers. The 24 bedrooms have been slotted into many of the palazzo’s original spaces, so they are all unique. But the opulence does not compete with Jean-Michel Gathy’s minimalist B&B Italia furniture. The Clooneys settled on the Alcova Tiepolo room, with precious frescoes above the bed and a hand-painted Chinoiserie sitting room, for their wedding night. Outside are two private gardens – another rarity in Venice – one of which butts up against the canal’s edge, and soon to be home to a teppanyaki restaurant. This is hands down the most splendid hotel in Venice. By Fiona Kerr Toronto Plaza Hotel C$ 104+ Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport C$ 111+ Toronto Don Valley Hotel and Suites C$ 113+ Bond Place Hotel C$ 115+ Four Points by Sheraton Toronto Airport East C$ 117+ Super 8 by Wyndham Downtown Toronto C$ 128+ Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Toronto Downtown C$ 130+ Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre C$ 134+ Holiday Inn Toronto International Airport C$ 139+ Town Inn Suites C$ 140+ Comfort Hotel Airport North C$ 143+ Delta Hotels by Marriott Toronto Airport & Conference Centre C$ 147+ Strathcona Hotel C$ 150+ Radisson Suite Hotel Toronto Airport C$ 151+ Chelsea Hotel, Toronto C$ 156+ DoubleTree by Hilton Toronto Airport C$ 156+ Radisson Hotel Toronto East C$ 158+ Courtyard by Marriott Toronto Downtown C$ 159+ DoubleTree by Hilton Toronto Downtown C$ 162+ Hotel Victoria C$ 170+ The Westin Toronto Airport C$ 172+ Holiday Inn Express Toronto Downtown C$ 176+ Radisson Admiral Hotel Toronto-Harbourfront C$ 178+ Novotel Toronto North York C$ 178+ The Westin Prince, Toronto C$ 179+ Novotel Toronto Centre C$ 180+ Hyatt Regency Toronto C$ 186+ Cambridge Suites Hotel - Toronto C$ 188+ Toronto Marriott Bloor Yorkville Hotel C$ 198+ Hilton Toronto C$ 199+
With hilltop breezes, easy access to Kata Beach and its shopping, nightlife, and dining, Avista Phuket Resort & Spa is in a convenient spot for those who love combining a beach holiday with the better things in life.En Vogue, the signature all-day dining restaurant, puts on several buffets a week with varied and quality entertainment features (theres even a kids clown) and bakes its own bread and patisserie items.Amenities include a branded spa & wellness centre, an interchangeable meeting room that caters for up to 100 people, a compact fitness room, a swim-up and pool bar, a well-stocked library and communications centre, games room, a kidsclub, good wheelchair access, and more. Read More...